Labor & Employment Law Update

A couple of months ago, we discussed the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) startling decision in Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc., 362 NLRB No. 186 (2015), in which it determined that a non-union company shared joint employer liability, under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), with a labor contractor at one of its recycling plants. The Board held that two or more entities are joint employers if each one possesses sufficient control over employee’s essential terms and conditions of employment. Employers were in an uproar over the decision ...

A recent 7^th Circuit case, Hooper v. Proctor Health Care, Inc., Case No. 14-2344 (7^th Cir. 2015), serves as a reminder that a plaintiff cannot state a failure to accommodate claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) if the plaintiff’s physical or mental limitations do not affect the plaintiff’s ability to perform essential job functions.

In Hooper, an employee diagnosed with bi-polar disorder prior to being hired by Proctor, requested time off after an incident that took place outside of work. He disclosed his diagnosis to the Director of Human ...

Can I regulate and/or discipline an employee for using alcohol outside of work?

While you might think the answer is pretty straightforward – it is NOT.  Attorneys often respond by saying, “it depends.”

If an employee’s use of alcohol (or any other legal product) outside of work is negatively impacting their performance or resulting in them coming to work impaired, then you can issue discipline in line with your policies and procedures for that conduct.

What if it is not impacting their performance and they are not coming to work drunk?

Again, the answer is the dreaded – “it ...